Brown University - Liber Brunensis Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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MOVING from his modernly furnished office in the twelve-year-old Wriston Quadrangle to suite 209 in 200-year-old University Hall, Benjamin Roman suftered the loss of wall-to-wall carpet- ing for a step upward in the administrative hi- erarchy. Upon the resignation of Dean Walsh in December, Mr. Roman was elevated from his position as Adviser for Student Affairs to Assist- ant to the Dean of the College: Student Affairs. A most congenial gentleman, and a Brown man, Mr. Roman enjoys extensive contact with the student body in three different capacities. Those students who are called to his office in UH probably wish themselves to be elsewhere; but Dean Roman is anything but an unsympathetic, strict disciplinarian. Latin scholars come to know him as their skillful tutor in Latin 6 and Latin 12. And for the residents of Bronson House, Mr. Roman is their friendly man with the wine and good conversation, both free of charge at his weekly open houses. Dean Ro- man enjoys his tri-partite position at Brown, for in each role he meets undergraduates in a different, revealing, and rewarding context. Mr. Roman feels that the new parietal system has been relatively successful, adding that the registration procedures can and will be im- proved. He notes that during the latter half of the first semester, there was only limited use of the new social code; the number of parties re- mained about the same as in recent years. He feels that when a hockey game or similar event is scheduled for a Saturday night, the whole evening is usually more successful than if only a social function were available. Mr. Roman hopes that other forms of entertainment, such as concerts, will become increasingly popular weekend fare. Commenting on the somewhat limited stu- dent involvement in numerous campus Organ- izations, he feels that the undergraduate's work load plays a very important part in keeping participation low. Those people who are really dedicated maintain an interest; but those who know the demands of graduate school admission tend to restrict their constructive leisure time activities. Looking to the future, Mr. Roman hopes that the new undergraduate housing unit will, with its arrangement of student rooms, provide a different social set-up, so that individ- uals can get to know their associates far better than is now possible in the West Quadrangle.

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YEARS OF PRACTICE in the field of pediatrics came to a close in the fall of 1963 when Dr. Roswell Johnson left New Brit- ain, Connecticut, to become director of Brown's University Health Service. Dr. Johnson taught pediatrics at Yale and Tulane medical schools and from 1951 to 1963 was Chief of Pediatrics at New Britain General Hospital. Most of his time, though twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year, was taken up with an unending flow of children in and out of his office. Dr. Johnson's present office in Andrews House is the only one he occu- pies, and yet it combinesin a waythe three milieus university, hospital, private residence in which he has spent his medical ca- HEET Dr. Johnson finds that working with college students is much more rewarding than what he had done previously. He enjoys dealing with such a highly selected, intelligent, and basically healthy group. Most important, Brown men are a nice group of people to talk to. More than half of the Health Service's work is non-objective, and, since he is the only full-time M.D. on the staff, Dr. Johnson does a majority of the general counseling. Unlike some other schools, Brown has a policy of counseling and diagnos- ing students with psychological problems; those needing treatment receive it outside the University. Commenting on the nationally famous birth control pill contro- versy that erupted this fall, Dr. Johnson maintains that the Brown Daily Herald was fair, but unwise. As a result, some press stories had a misplaced emphasis; there was an implication that Dr. John- son was culpable of some wrongdoing. Dr. Johnson asks, What is nasty about a rumor that pills are being given out? As most people know, what Dr. Johnson did was standard medical practice. 24 THE SON of a director of athletics, Philip R. Thei- bert was a four-sport varsity letterman at Ambherst, mathematics instructor, art history instructor, coach, dean of students, and chairman of the admissions committee at various schools before he became direc- tor of athletics at Brown in 1963. In addition, he has played professional baseball, earned a masters degree in fine arts, and had his watercolors exhibited in var- ious small shows. To call him versatile would be an understatement. The athletic program at an Ivy League school is run similarly to an academic department. Director Theibert has a limited budgetary allocation for a limited range of activities. As of this year, coaches are not allowed to make initial contacts with sub-fresh- men; that job is now left to alumni and undergradu- ates. Mr. Theibert points out that an athlete who considers going to Brown must first be sold on educa- tion. Least important in attracting scholar-athletes, Mr. Theibert feels, is the coach, who rarely sees more than a third of his potential team members. Most important is the first representative of Brown, usually an alumnus, who works on the boy, sells him on the school, and gets him to apply before other schools can make their offers. As a member of the coaches committee of the Ath- letics Council, Mr. Theibert plays a large role in screening candidates for coaching positions. Outside Brown, Mr. Theibert is constantly working with Ivy League and ECAC committees in various capacitics. Currently president of the New England Track Asso- ciation, next vear he will be secretary of the Ivy League and president the following year. A very busy and concerned man, My Theibert plays a leading role in making athletics at Brown a most respectable and attractive feature of the University as a whole.

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UNKNOWN AND UNAPPRECIATED on the Brown campus, Miss Rosemary Pierrel, Dean of Pembroke College and Protessor of Psychology, is normally depicted as a medieval obscurantist preventing the enlightened modern morality from reaching her young charges. In fact, to the Brown student in a position to talk with her, she is revealed as an accomplished scholar, a fine administrator, and an outspoken defender of the virtues of Pembroke. Dean of Pembroke since 1961, Miss Pierrel's duties are a combination of those of a college president and a head counselor. An important part of her time is devoted to public relations work. She represents Pembroke throughout the country, speaking to alumnae groups and rais- ing funds. She is not unknown in the offices of the Ford Foundation. In addition she works closely with development planners and can oc- Easionally be seen climbing over construction sites. Miss Pierrel often consults with Dean Schulze on the curriculum, the faculty, and as a member of the Committee on Academic Stand- ing. She and Dean Morse were largely responsi- ble for developing the new curriculum which went into effect in 1963. Seeing students also takes up much of Miss Pierrel's time. She and Assistant Dean Quevedo provide academic counseling for Pembroke juniors and seniors, and she is always available for discussion of more personal problems. She terms her job ex- citing. After having served as a faculty member for many years, she enjoys the opportunities for fuller responsibility. Dean Pierrel believes, It's not impossible for a man to be a dean of Pem- broke, but a man has never been a girl, and even at my advanced age I can remember how I felt. According to Dean Pierrel, Less than half of Pembroke graduates will make direct use of their college education. But she states, I'm not worried that the others wasted their time here at Pembroke. They will be much better informed citizens, wives, mothers, people. They too are making contributions they would not have made without a university education. Her duties as dean, full as they are, still allow Miss Pierrel time to teach one class a semester in psychology and to supervise graduate students. She is now applying for a second five-year grant from the United States Public Health Service to continue her research on learning in rats. A dedicated psychologist, she declares, I would probably give up my administrative post if I couldn't continue to teach and do research. As for her own future, It would be a shame to quit being a dean since I've just spent five years learning the job and can answer some of the questions.